Wow! These are beautiful! I'll have to bookmark this thread, as I'm thinking of making the flowers for my bouquet as well. Must keep my eyes out for pretty clearance ribbon! Good luck with your tons of flowers!

They're DONE! I've been working on this pair of socks for a while, because I didn't put 100% of my focus into them, and I had to pause on them for a bit to finish a different project. As of the 10th, they're finally done! Just a couple days after my Birthday, so I'm declaring them a gift to myself.

I used this pattern at Ravelry called Turkish Origami Socks. Of course, I had to change the pattern in a few ways to make myself happy with it. It's made cuff down and worked flat. However, that means that if you don't have enough yarn, you'll run out at the heel. I don't like the idea of being in the middle of a project and hitting a point of "OMG I NEED to run out to the store and buy more of this exact yarn to finish!" To remove that high possibility, I worked the pattern backwards, starting at the heel. Then I sewed them up right after finishing the top of the foot before I got to the leg, and worked the leg in the round. I did the crunch stitch for the leg as well, but since it was worked in the round instead of flat, it doesn't stretch the same way the crunch stitch in the foot does. That's right: the crunch stitch in the foot STRETCHES! I even got to wear them to my parents' house (which is always ridiculously cold) and they kept my feet super warm. These are surely one of the warmest pairs of socks I own.

To sum up: these socks were a massive success and I'm super stoked. The next pair I make will be following the same pattern and will be with a beautiful purple alpaca yarn for my sweetie. I have to do a test swatch of the yarn first to make sure it will work okay for socks, but I'm feeling pretty positive about it. Then I will probably try a toe up method that involves the crunch stitch, since I like it so much.

Edit: Oh, and I forgot to mention, they totally fit in my shoes! I wear tennis shoes, nothing fancy, but they fit snugly in and keep my toesies nice and cozy!

I thought I'd come back to this discussion to say that I'm almost done with my first pair of socks (I haven't focused on them 100%, so they're taking much longer than I expected). I've modified the pattern for the Turkish Origami socks so that I end at the leg, and I'm working the leg in the round instead of flat. I am using a self-striping yarn, but I don't care that the stripes on the bottom of my foot don't match up with the stripes on the top of my foot. (Who's going to see them that will judge?) I've had the chance to try them on in my shoes and they totally fit! They are thicker than most of my socks, but that's what I wanted to get out of making my own socks. Now I just have to decide how long I want the legs and I'll be done soon and pictures will be posted! Woot!

The next pair I make will be for my honey using the same pattern, since I know it works well. (I really liked that when my guage got bigger I could do some decreases and not stress over changing the stitch count.) Then I might try a toe-up joined row kind of technique. I like the crunch stitch used in the pattern, and to be stretchy it needs to be worked back and forth. I'll probably have to practice a short row heel over and over on spare yarn before I start those. However, that will be another adventure!

If it's labelled as "superwash" it should be fine and not felt. But if it's not labelled or if you're still not sure I'd definitely recommend crocheting some test swatches. That way you can be sure of what the yarn will do when you wash it.

I've never seen alpaca yarn that was labeled as superwash. Alpaca is always advised as handwash only, but one person said that it will felt with wear, no mis-washing necessary. Hence my concern.

I found a place that's in Canada (http://www.laboursoflove.com/p5343.htm). I'm assuming these are the ones you mean. Shipping is $9. Not great, but could be worse. Also, the prices are in CAD. But that's the best my search could find. Maybe you could contact them about USD conversion or any other information you need.

So I'm learning more and more about yarn as I go. I bought some beautiful hand dyed 100% alpaca yarn at Stitches West that I was hoping to make some awesome socks with. One big hank is in purple and a couple smaller hanks are a raspberry pink. I'm almost through making my first pair of socks and they're turning out really well, so I feel comfortable moving on to a nicer yarn. However, I've heard mixed opinions on alpaca yarn being used for socks. One person (admittedly, she was selling alpaca sock yarn) said she makes socks with it and has no problems. A couple people said it felts really easily. Then another person said alpaca doesn't felt easily but doesn't stretch and can "grow" over time. I was also told that if it's treated a certain way before sale, the yarn will be less likely to felt. How do I know if it's been treated?

I was debating making a little test swatch of each and washing them and putting them in my shoes to see what they do. Does this sound like a good idea? Have any of you had experience with crocheted socks made with alpaca yarn? Do you know if it's a good idea to even try it or not? If I have to re-appropriate the yarn for a different project, I'll be kinda bummed, but not heartbroken. I was just hoping to make us some really high class socks as a nice change.

I'm making a shrug using wool which is supposed to be used on a pair of 10mm needles although I am using a 9mm hook in hdc. And its not heavy.

I was told that cotton is more heavy and dense than wool. So it may work well in wool, but not so much in cotton. Also, because wool has stretch to it, if it stretches out a little, it tends to go back into shape, whereas cotton is more likely to just grow. I haven't completely written off the idea of a shawl, it would just probably have to be small and kind of lacy so it's not too heavy.